Apparatus, installation, and method for use in treating textile stock



Aug. M, 1923 t W. s. KmsLEY APPARATUS I NSTALLATION, AND METHOD FOR USE IN TREATING TEXTILE STOCK Filed Jan.

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r9-acapara WILLIAM S. KINSLEY, OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE RUSSELL COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS, INSTALLATION, AND METHOD FOR USE IN TREATING TEXTILE STOCK.

Application filed January 5, 1920. Serial No. 349,508.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, VVrLLIAM-S. KiNsLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Reading, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus, Installation, and Method for Use in Treating Textile Stock, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention pertains to improvements in methods of treating textile stock and to improvements in apparatus and installations for use in connection With such improved methods.

I have elected to disclose a preferred embodiment of my invention particularly well adapted for use in Woolen ills, in which 2 connection my improdwlapparatus, installations and methods not only improve the quality of the product from any given grade of stock, but also effect a substantial saving in labor costs.

In the drawings, which show one illustrative form of a preferred embodiment of my invention Figure l is a side elevation of a preferred form, of mill installation illustrating, more or less diagraimnatically, the treatment of the stock from the conclusion of the dyeing operation to the beginning of the drying operation;

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively a side elevation, and a plan view, more or less diagrammatically shown, showing the treatment of the stock from the conclusion of the drying operation to the storing thereof in a system of bins;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing, more or less diagrammatically, the treatment of the stock from the storage bins through the various operations prior to transfer to the card rooms;

Fig 5 is a diagrammatic view showing in plan the preferred relative widths of the wringer and the feeding mechanism therefor; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a preferred form of mixing and picker system for use in connection With my improved installation.

Referring to the drawings and to the preferred form of my invention selected for illustrative purposes, I have shown in Figs.

1 and 5 a feeder 5, which may be of the well-known Bramwell type, including a conveyor 6, an elevating spiked apron 7, a doctor 8, and clearer' 9 adapted to separate the batch of wet stock as it comes from the dye room in comparatively small lumps, which are elevated by the apron 7 and discharged onto the conveyor 10, which feeds the samey into a wringer 11 where the greater portion of the liquid coming from the dye vats is squeezed out. rlhe wringer 11 may discharge onto a conveyor 12 which dumps the material, still in lumps, into a hopper 13 connecting with the center of a blower 14 and adapted to suck in the lumps of material and deliver them, air-borne, through a conduit 15 preferably provided with dividing discharge means 16, as shown in detail in my co-pending application filed here-with. The discharge means 16 preferably delivers the material into the hopper 17 of a second Bramwell feeder having a bottom conveyor 18 and an elevating spiked apron 19 which delivers the material into any suitable dryer, typified as including the travelling metallic belt 20 adapted to carry the material through a heated chamber and to deliver the same into a hopper or chute 21, see Fig. 2. The chute 21 is preferably provided with a clearer 22 and delivers into a feeder 23, preferably including a conveyor 24 and elevating spiked apron 25 delivering into a duster 26, shown in detail in my co-pending application filed herewith, from which the material is preferably delivered into a chute 27 communicating with a blower 28 having a discharge conduit 29 adapted to carry the air-borne stock into suitable storage bins 30, (Fig. 3) preferably formed of wire netting. The conduit 29 is preferably provided with suitable valve means 31, adapted to deliver the stock into any desired bin so that the various grades and colors of stock may be kept separated.

The before-described apparatus, installation and methods are adapted to treat the stock particularly well and to produce particularly good product for various reasons, among which one of the most important is that the stock is delivered to the dryer after having been well subdivided into lumps which are subjected to air treatment, and because the stock is cleaned shortly after the discharge thereof from the dryer, preferably While still warm, and, after dusting thereof, is delivered into the bins by an. airblast, which leaves the material in a particularly desirable condition for storage.

The different bins 30 are intended to receive stock of different colors or different grades, combinations of which afterthe mixing operation, hereinafter descrlbed, will give the desired grade of material and color thereof for the carding, spinning and weaving operations.

ln the preferred form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 4, I provide in the Hoor opposite the door of each of the bins 30, trap doors 32, below which, on the next lower tloor of the building, is a track 33 carrying a truck 34 which in turn carries a scale on which is mounted a box 3G adapted to receive the material dumped through any one of the trap doors under which the truck and apparatus carried thereby may be located. The truck, scale and box carried thereby are described and claimed in my copending application tiled herewith. l prcfer that the box 3G have a bottom 87 secured to the truck, and that the rest of the box be slidable laterally from the top of the truck so that the material which has been placed in the box may, when the box is slid laterally, drop through the bottom thereof and through a hole 39 in the floor of the building into a pile 38, from which the same may be introduced into a. mixer 39. The mixer preferably includes a bottom conveyor 40, elevating spiked apron 41 pro vided with a doctor 42 and clearer 43 adapted to discharge into ablower 44, which preferably carries the material through a con duit 45 alternatively into a conduit 46 for returning the same to the mixer 39, or, by

shifting the gate or valve 47, may deliver the material into a conduit 48 for transfer to the next operation, preferably to the carding rooms. The conduit 46 preferably terminates in a discharge apparatus 49, which is preferably of the general type shown in my (ro-pending application filed herewith, and adapted to deliver the material back into the bin of the mixer so that when the valve 47 is thrown in such a way as to dcy liver the material from the blower back into feo the conduit 4G, the material may be repeatedly circulated until thoroughly mixed, thus effecting a thorough combination of the various grades and colors of stock, which may be supplied to the mixer for any given batch.

I preferably utilize this continuous mixing operation to effect oiling of the stock, and to this end l may provide a. discharge spray nozzle for spraying oil on the stock, preferably as it emerges from the discharge apparatus 49.

rlhe top of the bin ot' the mixer 39 may be covered with netting 5l to prevent escape of air-borne stock, and any suitable means,

typified by the door 52, may be provided to permit the introduction of the batch of stock into the mixer.

Where it is desired further to mix the materials or pass the same through pickers, the material in the conduit 48 leading to the card rooms may connect with a system permitting further mixing and, if desired, carding. A plan of a preferred installation for this purpose is Shown in Fig. 6, wherein material in the conduit 48 may be deflected into a conduit 49 by a suitable valve or damper 50, preferably hand-operated as shown, and a valve 51 which is also preferably hand-operated, discharging into a mixing feeder 52 of the same general type as the mixer 39, shown in side elevation in Fig. 4, though preferably somewhat larger. A duster 55 (Fig. 4) is preferably interposed between the mixer 39 and the mixer 52', this duster being arranged relative to a by-pass 55 so that the material can be by-passed thereby if desired when the material is being circulated back into the mixer 39, or if desired can be used for only a small proportion of the period desirable for the mixing operation.

1Where the stock is very dirty, have found that it is preferable to pass the stoel; several times through this duster, subjecting the stock to the dusting operation several times, each for a relatively short period, rather than to dust the stock continuously for a long period at any one time. The suecession of dustings for relatively short periods does not ball up the stock or break the fibres thereof as much as dusting for a corresponding time as a continuous operation.

By the time the stock reaches the mixer 52', or 5G, 57 or 58 as hereinafter described'. the stock is clean and the mixing operation may be continued if desired by throwing a damper in the bottom of the chute 59 so as to deliver the material into the fan 60. which circulates the same through the conduit 49 past the valve 51 and back into the mixer 52. Adjacent the junction of the outlet from the fan 60 into the pipe 49,1 provide a valve G1, preferably automatic and adapted to be operated by the air blast. `When it is desired to pick the stock, the valve in the bottom of the chute 59 is thrown in such a way as to open the bottom of the chute 59 and permit the material to fall through the bottom of the chute 59 into a chute 62 leading to a mixing picker G3. From the mixing picker G3, the material may be handled by a fan 64 into aconduit 65 connectin.fr with the conduit 48. An automatic valve 66 is preferably interposed between the conduit G5 and the conduit 48. lf desired, the material as it comes from the picker 83 may be diverted into the mixers 5G, 57 or 58, or, by an appropriate setting of Jthe valves, may

be sent direct to the card room following the arrow at the lower right-hand corner of 'he connections to and from the mixer 56 may be similar to those to and from the mixer 52', except that the return conduit 67 is independent of the conduit 68, which is utilized for return to the mixer 52. The conduit 67 may be opened or closed by a. hand-operated valve 69, and an automatic air-operated valve 70 is preferably provided to open or close connection between the conduit 71 and the conduit 68. When Ina terial in the mixer 56 is to be sent to the card room, the valve in the bottom of the chute 72 is turned in such a way as to deliver the material to the fan 73, the automatic valve 74 assumes the position shown in the diagram, the hand-operated valve 69 is thrown into the position opposite to that shown in the diagram, closing the conduit 67, and the automatic valve 70 automatically opens by reason of the blast from the fan 73, thus delivering the material into the conduit 68 which connects with the conduit 48 on the way to the card room. The connections to the mixers 57 and 58 are similar to those described in connection with the mixer 56, second picker being provided.

The various simple operations permissible by varying the setting of the hand valves or da-mpers (which are all shown with levers as in 50', 51') coupled with the automatic operation of the automatic valves or damperS such as 70 and 74 (which are all shown without levers) render the operation of the installation exceedingly flexible and not only greatly increase the handling and mixing capacity of the installation, but result in an even quality of material delivered to the cards and in the production from any given grade of stock of a roving or yarn of a quality superior to that ordinarily produced from the same grade of stock.

While 1' have shown and described a pre,- ferred form of one embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes involving omission, substitution, alteration and reversal of parts, and even changes in the mode of operation, may be made without departing from the scope of my invention, which is best defined in the following claims.

Claims:

l. The method of treating wet textile stock which comprises tearing the stock into relatively small separated lumps, loosely consolidating the lumps so provided, and then subjecting the lumps to a squeezing operation while in consolidated relation'to remove fluid therefrom.

2. Apparatus for use in textile mills comprising, in combination, feeding means for subdividing a mass of wet material as it comes from the dyeing operation, said feeding means including a spiked apron, squeezing means for squeezing the stock after delivery from said spiked apron, said squeezing means being of substantially less width than said spiked apron, means for driving said spiked apron at a relatively slow speed, and means for consolidating the material delivered from said relatively wide spiked apron and delivering the same to said relatively narrower squeezing means whereby the stock delivered from the spiked apron is sub-divided into relatively small lumps and fed to said squeezing means in a comparatively uniform manner.

3. The method of treating wet textile stock which comprises sub-dividing al mass of wet material as it comes from the dyeing operation by tearing small lumps of the material from the mass, squeezing these lumps to remove fluid therefrom and then transferring said stock with attendant agitation in a rapidly moving current of air.

4. The method of treating wet textile stock which comprises sub-dividing a mass of wet material as it comes from the dyeing operation by tearing small lumps, of the material from the mass, squeezing these lumps to remove fluid therefrom and then transferring said stock with attendant agitation in a rapidly moving current of air and dividing said stock in the current of air with attendant decrease in speed thereof immediately prior to depositing said stock in a receiving container.

5. The method of treating textile stock which comprises subjecting a sub-divided mass of wet stock as it comes wet from the dyeing to a squeezing operation, and then subjecting the stock to the action attending the feeding thereof into a rapidly moving current of air, which is sub-divided with attendant decrease of speed of flow adjacent the discharge thereof, prior to the drying operation.

6. The method of treating textile stock which comprises dusting the stock for a relatively| short time, withdrawing the stock from the dusting area and subsequently subjecting the stock to a second relatively short dusting operation, while providing between the dusting operations for a redistribution of the component parts of the dusted material, thereby to provide thorough dusting while avoiding that rolling of the stock which results from a too long continued single dusting operation.

7. The method of treating textile stock which comprises making up a batch containing determined amounts of different stock, tearing from the batch of material lll@ sired amount of mixing has been effected to produce the desired color and mixture.

8. rlfhe method of treating textile stock which comprises making up a batch containing determined amounts oi different stock, tearing from, the batch ot material relatively small lumps thereotI and delivering such lumps into a mixing and circulating current of air and then returning the lumps to the main batch, the circulation of the material being continued until the desired amount of mixing has been eilected to produce the desired color and mixture, and spraying oil on the batch ot stock during the mixing operation.

9. An installation for textile mills including a mixer having a. bin. an elevating apron :tor feeding stock from said bin and operatorcontrolled means for returning all such stock continuously to said bin, whereby a batch of said stock may be repeatedly subjected to a Certain treatment while in the bin or on the way into or out of the bin.

10. An installation for textile mills including a mixer including a bin, an elevating Macnee apron for feeding stock from said bin and air-blast means for continuously returning all such stock to said bin.

1l. An installation for textile mills including a mixer having a bin, an elevating apron for 'feeding stoel; from said bin and ail-*blast operator-controlled means for re.- turning such stock continuously to said bin or alternatively conveying said stock from said mixer.

l2. An installation for textile mills including a mixer having a bin, means for elevating stock out of said. bin, means for conveying said stock back to the bin, a duster interposed between the elevating means and the conveying means, and means for cont-rolling passage of the stock delivered at the discharge end 0i" the elevating means to the duster whereby all ot' the stock may be dusted before being returned to the mixer.

In testimony| whereof, l have signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM S. KINSLEY. 

